All common ownership community board members in Montgomery County, Maryland are required to take a 2-hour training class within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board for the first time. The CCOC’s Community Governance Fundamentalsclass provides board members with a basic understanding of the responsibilities and procedures for governing their community association. The training class topics include association governing documents and statutes, meeting and decision-making procedures, financial management, and owner rights and responsibilities.

Posted by Thomas Schild Law Group, LLC, attorneys for condominiums, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives in Maryland -– including Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Howard County, Frederick County, and Baltimore County; and in Baltimore City and Washington, D.C.

After a year-long examination of the operations of the Montgomery County Commission on Common Ownership Communities (CCOC), the County Council has enacted a new law which makes changes in the CCOC dispute resolution process. More than 340,000 Montgomery County, Maryland residents live in over 1,000 condominiums, homeowners associations, and housing cooperatives. The CCOC was created in 1991 to provide a forum for certain disputes between association residents and the board which govern the association to be resolved without going to court, and to provide educational resources for associaiton residents and leaders

Where the CCOC staff determines that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that a violation of law or association documents has occurred, the new law requires the staff to attempt to resolve disputes filed with the CCOC through informal negotiation and possibly mediation.

If the party who filed the CCOC dispute does not attend the mediation, the dispute must be dismissed. If the party who is alleged to violation applicable law or the association documents does not attend the mediation, the matter must be set for a hearing and that party is prohibited from appearing at the hearing to present testimony and evidence. Previously, there was no requirement for active staff negotiation, and mediation was voluntary.

The new law also requires all members of the CCOC to take the same CCOC training on community association governance which association board members are required to take, and any other training provided or approved by the County Attorney. Additionally, volunteer arbitrators who chair CCOC hearing panels will be prohibited from representing any parties in disputes before other hearing panels.

Separately, the annual community association registration fee was increased from $3 to $5 per dwelling unit beginning July 1 to allow the CCOC to provide more staff and and educational resources. The CCOC is now part of the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Posted by Thomas Schild Law Group, LLC, attorneys for condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives in Maryland Counties of Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Howard County, and Frederick County; and in Washington, D.C.

Mid-way through 2016, hundreds of directors of condos, HOAs and coops in Montgomery County, Maryland have successfully completed the online training program now required by County law for directors elected, re-elected or appointed since January 1. The training program, Community Governance Fundamentals, is provided by the Montgomery County Commission on Common Ownership Communities (CCOC).

The required education program is intended to promote more knowledgeable and responsible management of common ownership communities. Topics include the roles and responsibilities of board members and homeowners, community governing documents, financial management, meeting procedures, and covenant and rule enforcement procedures.

The online training takes about 2 hours to complete, may be taken in phases over time, is interactive and includes short quizzes which must be passed to move on to the next section. The program is also offered in a live format by community association attorneys and managers in conjunction with the Community Associations Institute.

A director who does not complete the training is not prohibited from continuing to serve on the board. However, a CCOC dispute resolution panel may consider failure to complete the training in deciding a dispute between the association and a homeowner.

There are more than 1,000 common ownership communities in Montgomery County, which include over 130,000 dwelling units and 5,000 board members.

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The Thomas Schild Law Group provides legal services to community associations – condominiums, homeowners associations, and cooperatives – in Maryland and the District of Columbia. We also represent property owners regarding contract review, business disputes, and debt collection.

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